Coast Guard Rescues Turtle Trapped in Bales of Cocaine

On a mission in the eastern Pacific, a crew of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter found and freed a sea turtle trapped in bales of cocaine. (Published Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017)

The crew of a Coast Guard cutter used to finding bales of cocaine floating on the ocean got a surprise last month: a sea turtle trapped amid the contraband, NBC News reported.

The crew of the cutter Thetis found the creature in the eastern Pacific after a military plane spotted a debris field of 26 packages strung together, amounting to 800 kilos of cocaine, authorities said.

The turtle had lines wrapped around its neck and fins, Commander Jose Diaz said. "There were some marks on her neck, so she may have been there a day or two."

The availability and use of cocaine are rebounding to levels not seen in a decade, in some cases, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.